Prison Terms Are Begun by 10 In Arson Case in North Carolina

BURGAW, N. C., Feb. 2 (AP) —Ten persons convicted of arson and conspiracy in a racial disturbance in Wilmington in 1971 broke bread and shared wine today with families and friends before surrendering to begin their orison terms.

The mine was offered “for the remission of sins—the sins of the prosecutor, the sins of the judges and the sins of the police,” said the Rev. Dr. Charles Cobb of the Commission for Racial Justice of the United Church of Christ.

The commission and the Natonal Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression have been organizing protests since the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeals of the convictions in 1972 for arson and conspiracy to assault firemen and the police.

“We are the victims of racism,” said the Rev. Ben Chavis, the leader of the 10. “We have been persecuted for political activity, not for criminal acts.”

He faces a prison term of 29 to 34 years The other defendants received sentences ranging from 7 to 26 years.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals rejected the defendants’ appeals, and the State and United States Supreme Courts declined to hear them. The 10 still plan to appeal to the United States District Court, but in the meantime a Federal magistrate ruled last Friday that they must begin serving their sentences.

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A version of this archives appears in print on February 3, 1976, on Page 62 of the New York edition with the headline: Prison Terms Are Begun by 10 In Arson Case in North Carolina. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe